Cultural Differences in Psychological Distress Between Asian and Caucasian American College Students

Abstract

The authors examined possible cultural differences in psychological distress between Asian and Caucasion American college students using the Brief Symptom Inventory.International students at U.S. universities experience a variety of problems, some of which are common to all college students and others that are unique to international students (Leong, 1985).Common problems experienced by international students and US. students include homesickness, the need to develop new peer relationships, and the need to become independent. Problems experienced by international students but not by U.S. students include language difficulties, immigration difficulties, culture shock, and culture fatigue. From this variety of problems, it seems that adjusting to college life would be as difficult if not more so for international students than it would be for U.S. students.In fact, Leong and Sedlacek (1989) found that international students expressed significantly greater academic and career needs than U.S. students did. In addition, international students rank ordered the importance of their academic and career needs in different ways than did U.S. students. For instance. the need to feel less anxious when

A review of the acculturation experiences of international students

“…For the international students in the study, dysfunctional coping (denial, substance use, self blame, venting, and behavioural disengagement) was the only significant predictor of psychological distress; and psychological distress was predominantly displayed as obsessive-compulsive symptoms, manifesting as worry and rumination over mistakes, and perfectionist tendencies. Similarly, Cheng, Leong, and Geist (1993) found that Asian international students in a U.S.A university scored significantly higher than domestic students on obsessivecompulsiveness. Chataway and Berry's (1989) research demonstrated that Asian international students compared to French and British international students in Canada used less positive thinking coping strategies and less positive or maladaptive tension reduction methods (i.e., use of drugs, alcohol, food, and/or exercise).…”

“…Additionally, Mori (2000) stated that international students (particularly from Asian countries) have a tendency to somatise problems, and thus seek help from medical physicians first. Cheng et al (1993) suggest that if Asian international students do present for help at university counselling centres, it is likely to be with academic complaints despite also experiencing emotional distress. Russell, Thomson, and Rosenthal (2008) conducted a large study investigating the use of health and counselling services by 979 international students at an Australian university.…”

The Domestic Migration Stress Questionnaire (DMSQ): Development and Psychometric Assessment

“…We used five Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) subscales (Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1983) to assess the validity of DMSQ, including Depression (Cronbach alpha=.88), Anxiety (Cronbach alpha=.88), Somatization (Cronbach alpha=.89), Hostility (Cronbach alpha=.86) and Obsessive-Compulsive (Cronbach alpha=.83). The BSI has excellent reliability (Cheng, Leong, & Geist, 1993) and has been widely used in research (Wong & Song, 2008). BSI assesses the frequency of various symptoms experienced by participants using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = "never" and 5 = "always").…”

Asian international students' ethnic identity, spirituality, acculturation, and experience of racism: relationship with attitude toward seeking professional therapeutic help

“…Consequently, these students are a high-risk group in terms of experiencing psychological problems compared to American students in general (Cheng, Leong, Geist, 1993;Leong & Chou, 2002;Lin & Yi, 1997;Miller & Harwell, 1983;Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1991). Living in a foreign environment along with trying to adjust to a college environment can create severe emotional and mental distress (i.e., anxiety, insomnia, depression, medical problems) for these students (Charles & Stewart, 1991;Chiu, 1995;Lin Yi, 1997;Leong & Chou, 2002;McKinlay, Pattison, & Gross, 1996;Miller & Harwell, 1983;Oliver, Reed, Katz, & Haugh, 1999;Parker & McEvoy, 1993;Pruitt, 1978;Robbins & Reiger, 1991).…”

“…Such problems include relating to language and communication, loss of a social support network, immigration, "cultural shock, and culture fatigue" (Cheng et al, 1993;McKinlay, Pattison, & Gross, 1996;Sandhu, 1994;Surdam & Collins, 1984). According to Leong andSedlacek (1986, 1989), international students also report greater concern about academic and career matters than U.S. students.…”